My evening with Fabio Frizzi

Ever since I could remember, I have loved Italian Horror. To me, the names Mario Bava, Lamberto Bava, Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, Umberto Lenzi, Michele Soavi and so forth…those names, to me, are the equivalent to celebrity names for most. Honestly I feel I was greatly influenced by Dario Argento in his book Profondo Argento, where he writes that ‘actors are whores who just do the bidding of the director’. I may be paraphrasing a bit but how I feel about actors, I think, was greatly influenced by that line. Of course, half of the experience is visual and half is aural. So it’s fair to say that I also grew up listening to the scores of Ennio Morricone, Goblin, Riz Ortolani, Roberto Donati and last, but most certainly not least, the great Fabio Frizzi.

Fabio, bandmates and new friends!

Recently I had the privilege of being able to catch the maestro at work with his band, Fulci 2 Frizzi, here in San Diego at Brick by Brick. What a show it was. Wait, not a show, an experience! To see the man and his talented band in action playing tunes from films I grew up with was something I can’t easily describe. I was bummed out that I missed Goblin when they were in town a couple of years ago but this more than makes up for it.

Signore Frizzi played a decent-length set. Actually it was longer than I had expected, but of course, never long enough when you’re listening to music you enjoy. Tunes from Zombi, The Beyond, City of the Living Dead, Manhattan Baby, Cat the Brain and more…

When it was all over, we got to meet new friends who I share common interests with and take a few more pictures. What an evening.

I hope Fulci 2 Frizzi comes to southern California again in the near future. Maybe someone can convince the agents to put together a Goblin/Fulci 2 Frizzi World Tour! That would be something…But until then;